Wisconsin To Be Nicer to Inmates

Let’s just hope that this doesn’t lead to a dead guard. 

To settle lawsuits filed by inmates, state officials have agreed to make wide-ranging changes to the segregation unit at the maximum-security Waupun Correctional Institution to make it easier for them to sleep, exercise and communicate.

New windows, magazines and even hacky sacks are on the way for the 180 inmates who are housed there, according to settlements signed last month and obtained by The Associated Press. The state is also paying more than $113,000 to two inmates and their attorneys.

The inmates had argued the conditions in the cells were so isolating and harsh they violated their constitutional right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment and made their mental illnesses worse.